Diabetes mellitus, often referred to as diabetes, is a chronic condition in which a person has elevated blood glucose levels that result from defects in the body's ability to produce and/or use insulin. Diabetes can be treated by injecting predetermined dosages of insulin to the patient to control the level of glucose in the bloodstream. For instance, some diabetes patients rely on an insulin pump to deliver the predetermined dosages to the patient.
The insulin pump can closely imitate a normally functioning pancreas by releasing multiple small doses of insulin each day into the body through an infusion set to regulate blood glucose levels. The dosage delivery rate of these small doses (i.e., the basal rate) can vary from user to user. Also, even for a particular user, the basal rate can change throughout the day, and the basal rate can depend upon various factors (e.g., the user's metabolism, physical health, stress levels, amount of exercise, etc.).
Insulin pumps can also deliver (either automatically or selectively) bolus doses of insulin. These bolus doses can be delivered before meals or snacks to compensate for the caloric intake. Also, bolus dosages can be delivered to correct high blood glucose levels. Moreover, the pump can be configured to deliver multiple types of bolus dosages (e.g., a “standard bolus,” an “extended bolus,” a “combination bolus/multiwave bolus,” and a “super bolus”). These dosages can be adjusted according to the patient's particular physiology, eating habits, etc.
Many insulin pumps are programmable so that the basal and bolus dosages can be tailored to the particular user. Some pumps are also capable of communicating with a separate computing device and are compatible with software applications that may be executed on the computing device.